Cross Cultural Gender Differences in Social-emotional Competence of Young Children: Comparisons with Brazil, China, South Korea, and the United States

Abstract

Background: The current study investigated differences in gender-based expectations across cultures by examining whether items in Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), a social-emotional screening instrument, functioned differently for boys and girls 3 to 66 months old. A total of 74,776 ASQ:SE questionnaires were collected in Brazil, South Korea, China and the United States (U.S.). Methods: The analyses were conducted using differential item functioning (DIF) by country for each ASQ:SE age interval (i.e., 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 48, 60 months). Results: Results showed that eight items with gender DIF were present in two or three countries simultaneously, and 19 items with gender DIF were detected in a single country. Conclusions: With an equal level of social-emotional competence, girls had higher scores than boys, indicating more problem behaviors on items reflecting internalizing behaviors; and boys had higher scores on items measuring externalizing problem behaviors. Additionally, in all four countries, differences in item functioning associated with gender increased as children grew older. Interpretations of ASQ:SE results should consider that families’ cultural beliefs may have differing effects according to the child’s gender.